Middle volume of Catton’s war trilogy - starting with Lincoln in shock after losing the first set-piece battle, and ending with the narrow win that gave him the authority to ‘proclaim’ (though not procure) the freedom of all southern slaves, turning the war into an abolitionist crusade.

This change in the whole nature of the conflict is well-handled - both governments slowly grasping that they did not control the war, because the war was increasingly controlling them. As always with Catton, the battles are vividly described, especially the naval operations, which seem to bring out a special enthusiasm in the author (he had once served briefly in the navy, so perhaps there was still a sailor in him somewhere.) And he provides an interesting Greek chorus in the form of Charles Francis Adams, the US ambassador in London, who played a useful role in keeping Britain out of the war.

The period in question (July 1861 – October 1862) saw the opening-up of the war in the west, with sickening corruption out in the wild places with nobody watching, and slow chaos dogging the Union agenda for many months. It saw the rise of Robert E. Lee and the quite unknown U.S. Grant. It saw the ascendancy of George McClellan, who talked big but dodged the action to an extraordinary degree (supposedly not through timidity, but through extreme reluctance to sacrifice the men to whom he was so devoted) before resigning in order to run against Lincoln for president. And it ended with the Emancipation Proclamation that would deprive the Confederacy of potential allies, since no democratic nation wanted to be seen fighting for slavery.